To create an authoritative or factual tone.įor example, ‘Pupils are not allowed in the dining hall after 1:45 p.m.
Because we don't know or do not want to say who performed the action.įor example, ‘I had the feeling that I was being watched.’ - I don’t know who was watching me.To show interest in the person or object that experiences an action rather than the person or object that performs the action.įor example, the castle was built in 1066 - we are interested in the castle, not in who built it.Reasons to use the passive voiceĪlthough the active voice is usually the preferred choice, there are sometimes good reasons to use the passive voice: Choosing between the active and passive voice can be particularly confusing in academic writing. ‘The exam was passed by the pupil’ would change to ‘The pupil passed the exam’. Rewrite the sentence so that the subject in the 'by' phrase is closer to the beginning of the sentence. The difference between active voice and passive voice is to do with the relationship of the subject of a sentence to the verb. Passive Voice When writing, we have the option to construct sentences using the active or the passive voice. One way to avoid using the passive voice is to look for a ‘by’ phrase. The Passive Voice in Academic Writing Active Voice vs. Who scored the goal? Doesn’t the writer know? Converting sentences to active voice Passive sentences can cause confusion because they can be vague about who is responsible for the action. (7 words)Īctive : The teacher collected the books. Passive : The books were collected by the teacher.Using the active voice in a sentence often means less words are used than in the passive voice.
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